


Artificial.

by BlueTeamSucks



Series: What's the A Stand For? [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: AU, M/M, Project Freelancer, wash is Tucker's ai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-10 20:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2038629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueTeamSucks/pseuds/BlueTeamSucks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tucker grunted as the soldier he was fighting managed to nick his upper thigh. Tucker took another jab at the soldier, who was clearly more skilled with knives than Tucker was. Sarge would've been more qualified to be in this situation. The older Freelancer loved his shotgun, but had been amazing with knives and hand-to-hand combat ever since he had been implanted with CT.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Artificial.

Tucker grunted as the soldier he was fighting managed to nick his upper thigh. Tucker took another jab at the soldier, who was clearly more skilled with knives than Tucker was. Sarge would've been more qualified to be in this situation. The older Freelancer loved his shotgun, but had been amazing with knives and hand-to-hand combat ever since he had been implanted with CT.

Rain beat down on them, making the already slippery mud even harder to find good footing on. Donut was struggling on his left with two more soldiers. They were large and strong. Donut's speed unit was helping him evade their clumsy swings most of the time. Occasionally, one would manage to land a punch on him. With each hit, Donut was slowing down.

On his right, Church and Simmons were keeping a guy with a rocket launcher away from the rest of the group. They were having a tough time disarming him because anytime they would start to approach, there would be a huge explosion. Church was trying to use his invisibility, but the rain was giving him away.

Wash was multitasking. He was calculating the best way out of their situation while trying to think of a reason why these people were here. It was supposed to be a simple package pick-up mission, before they had been ambushed. They were all equipped to match the Freelancers on this mission. They were easily exploiting all of their weaknesses.

Tucker took another swing at the soldier and missed. A knife was in his left shoulder before he realized what was happening. Wash flashed red, giving a warning to the other Freelancers there. "Agent Tucker is down and needs help."

Simmons rolled to avoid an explosion. "York, go evaluate the situation."

The tan AI rushed over. He hovered next to Wash, who was frantically trying to find a way out. "Don't pull out the knife," he directed.

Tucker took the advise and yanked himself away from the soldier. The knife stayed in his shoulder, keeping him from bleeding too much. Tucker was now at a point where he could use his sword. With a swish, swish, stab, the soldier was on the ground.

As Tucker moved to go help Donut, Wash shook his head incessantly. "No way. That's a bad idea, you need a medical team."

Tucker pressed forward and quickly got the attention of one of the huge soldiers. The big guy lumbered toward him. "Relax, Wash. I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"It's my job to worry about you!" Wash scowled as the soldier wound up for a punch. Tucker easily dodged the clumsy swing and sliced off his arm using his energy sword.

The big guy howled in pain. The loud cry caught the attention of rocket-guy and big guy number two. The distraction was what Church and Simmons needed. They disarmed rocket-guy and cut him down when he wasn't looking.

Donut used his speed unit to catch the rocket launcher before it hit the ground. He spun around and aimed it right at Tucker. "Get down!" He yelled.

_"GET DOWN!"_ Wash screamed inside Tucker's head.

Tucker did as he was told and dropped to the ground. Just as he slammed into the mud, a rocket flew over his head. Big guy and big guy two were no longer a problem.

There was a moment of sweet silence, then Wash managed to find his voice. "What the fuck was that? I told you to stop, because of the fucking knife in your shoulder! What do you do? You go cut off a guy's arm, then manage to get the knife in deeper by falling to the fucking ground! What the fuck were you thinking?"

Tucker struggled to his feet. "Oh, I'm sorry that I didn't let us get killed by a fucking rocket."

"You wouldn't have had to dodge the rocket if you had listened to me and found a medic!" Wash stubbornly crossed his arms.

"I'm not going to go get a medic while my friends are fighting. Seriously Wash, it's not the bad. It barely even stings." Tucker trailed behind Donut, Church, and Simmons as they trudged back to their drop ship. 479er was probably worried about them, they had been gone a long time.

"Bull. Shit."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Shut up. I'm fine. What I'm worried about is getting all of this black stuff off of my beautiful cyan armor."

"That black stuff is called mud. And your armor isn't cyan, it's more of a teal... Or a turquoise." Wash frowned, now trying to decide the color of Tucker's armor.

York looked back at them. "It's aqua. I was curious about that too, so Simmons helped me look it up. Aqua."

Tucker shrugged, then winced at the movement. "Alright then, I guess we're both wrong."

Wash grunted, but didn't argue with York. He was the smartest AI there was, probably because he was the logic AI.

"Well, you're not the smartest Freelancer."

Tucker snorted. "Never said I was. That award goes to Simmons. I am the best Freelancer, though."

Wash smirked and shook his head. "Nope. That's Church."

Church turned around and gave Wash a thumbs up. "Fuck yeah, way to go, little buddy. He knows what he's talking about."

Tucker glared at Church, then turned to look at Wash. "Alright, I'm the second best Freelancer."

"Uh-uh. Donut's the next on the leaderboard. Then Simmons, then Doc, then Sister, and then you. So you're like, the sixth best Freelancer."

"Please be quiet."

Wash didn't say anything else, but his thoughts were triumphant. It took everything that Tucker had in him not to swear profusely at the smug little AI.

Finally, they reached the drop ship. The door was open and Tucker could see inside, where 479er was lounging on the seats, reading a magazine. She didn't seem worried at all.

"Miss us?" Church asked bitterly as he ducked inside the drop ship.

479er laughed. "Yeah, sure. You guys ready to go?" She didn't look up as she flipped the page of her magazine. Simmons, Donut, and Tucker all piled onto the drop ship, dripping blood onto the relatively clean floor.

"Yes, can we please get off this godforsaken planet?" Tucker frowned at their pilot.

"Why? It was just a..." 479er looked up at them and trailed off. "Alright, I guess something went wrong then, huh?"

"You think?" Tucker sat down heavily in one of the seats lining the walls.

479er stood up, letting the magazine flutter down to the floor. "Get ready for takeoff. Was the mission a success?"

Simmons and Church exchanged glances. Simmons shook his head. "No, someone else got to the package first."

479er nodded in understanding as she went into the cockpit. Church went up to join her, leaving the rest of them in the back. They all strapped themselves in. Sometimes 479er's flying could get a little... Daring.

As Tucker leaned back in his seat, Donut pulled off his helmet. He grinned at them. "Hey Wash, how was your first mission?"

Wash looked up from his spot on Tucker's shoulder. Carolina was standing next to Donut, looking expectant. "It was... Interesting."

Wash didn't say what he was really thinking. _"Scary. Loud. Overwhelming."_

Donut nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer. He turned back to Simmons to finish their conversation that had gotten interrupted by the soldiers. They were talking about their armor colors, for some reason.

Tucker took the opportunity to talk to Wash. _"It's okay, buddy. You get used to it eventually. I'm sorry that it wasn't as calm as it was supposed to be."_ Tucker felt bad that the AI's first mission was so hectic.

Wash frowned. _"I don't know how you could ever get used to that. It's so much different than practice. For one thing, the soldier are actually trying to kill you."_

_"Project Freelancer manages to piss off a lot of people, so expect more of that in the future._

Wash was silent for a couple of minutes. His lack of response had Tucker concerned.

_"You alright there, Wash?"_

Wash snapped back to attention and nodded. _"Yeah. I was just thinking about the mission."_

Tucker frowned at him. _"If it really has you that worried, I could talk to-"_

_"No, no. Nothing like that. I was just thinking about the people who ambushed us. You were right, they seemed specifically chosen to match your weaknesses. You're awful with knives and Donut could barely keep up with those big guys. Even Church and Simmons were struggling because their enhancements couldn't help them in that situation."_ Wash started pacing back and forth on Tucker's lap.

Tucker shrugged. _"I guess they got lucky."_

_"No... How did they know that we were even going to be there? If they were just going to get the package, they should've been just as unprepared for battle as we were. If it was a pick-up mission, you wouldn't send all of your best fighters and completely equip them."_ Wash shook his head. Something was definitely bothering him.

_"What are you saying?"_ Tucker cocked his head to the side in curiosity as Wash turned toward him suddenly.

Wash glanced over at York, who was lazily watching them. Carolina was sitting next to him and staring a bit more intently. It must be pretty obvious that they were having a private conversation.

Wash sighed. _"I'm saying that they somehow knew we were going to be there."_

Tucker blinked in surprise. _"What is that even supposed to mean? How would somebody know that we were going to make a move for the package, it was a pretty secret mission. The only people who knew about it were the other Freelancers, the AI, The Counselor, and The Director."_

_"I think that there is a possibility of a traitor onboard the Mother of Invention, Tucker."_ Wash sounded dead serious, otherwise Tucker would've laughed.

Tucker glanced over at Simmons and Donut, who were still having a long, one-sided conversation. _"You don't think..."_ He trailed off, unable to continue the thought.

Wash shrugged. _"Honestly, I don't know who it could be. We should keep it in mind though. Also, it'd probably be best to let The Director know about our suspicions."_

The ship lurched as 479er started docking. They had reached the Mother of Invention. _"You think so?"_

Wash nodded confidently. Tucker decided that his AI was right and as soon as he was off of the drop ship, he headed to The Director's office. Unfortunately, a medic stopped him from going any farther. Without a word, they pulled him into the med bay.

There, Tucker had to sit for almost two hours as they stitched up the stab wound. The whole time, he let Wash know how unhappy he was with the procedure.

Towards the end of his visit, Doc walked into the med bay. "Oh no," Tucker groaned. He had enough to deal with at the moment.

Doc noticed Tucker and walked over, grinning. "Hey! What are you here for Tucker?"

"Mission went wrong and we were ambushed. I ended up getting a knife in my shoulder." Tucker motioned toward the stitches.

Doc winced when he saw the wound. "Wow, that looks painful. Can I do anything to help?"

Tucker quickly shook his head. "No thanks, Doc, I'm good. I just wanted to ask The Director something, then I'm going to go to bed. Long day."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. See you later!" Doc nodded cheerfully and wandered off to another patient.

As soon as he was gone, Wash gave him a quizzical look. _"I thought that Doc was a Freelancer, not an actual doctor."_

Tucker stood up and shrugged his bodysuit up. He grabbed his armor from the ground and put it back on. _"He is the furthest from a doctor that you can get. We just call him that because he failed out of medical school right before he joined Project Freelancer."_

_"Oh... I guess that make sense."_

Tucker snickered as he nodded goodbye to Doc. He would go tell The Director about the possible traitor, then go to bed. The day was catching up with him and all that Tucker wanted to do was to fall onto his bed.

The door to The Director's office was closed. The Counselor was standing nearby with a clipboard. Tucker walked up to him and waited for him to look up from his work.

"Can I help you, Agent Tucker?" He looked annoyed for some reason.

Tucker nodded. "Yeah, I need to talk to The Director. It's important."

The Counselor sighed. "The Director is currently in a meeting with Agent Sarge. I'm sure that they will be finished soon, however. You may wait here if you want to."

Tucker fought the urge to groan as he glanced at the door. "Alright, I can wait for him." He decided, leaning against the wall.

The Counselor looked momentarily surprised at Tucker's choice, but if he was opposed to it, he didn't say anything.

It was another ten minutes before Sarge walked out of The Director's office. When Tucker finally got the chance to go talk to him, The Director seemed irritated. Tucker didn't blame him, sometimes reasoning with Sarge could be quite the challenge.

"What do you need, Tucker?" The Director rubbed at his temples and squeezed his eyes shut, as if he could feel bad headache coming on.

Tucker took a moment to think out his words. He would need to tread lightly with this topic. "Sir, Washington and I have reason to believe that there could be a traitor on the Mother of Invention."

That caught The Director's attention. It wasn't often that someone suggested the possibility of a traitor. He gave Tucker a scowl. "And why do you two think that?"

Tucker suddenly felt foolish with his accusations. He tried to stay calm as he explained himself. "Today, during the mission. It was supposed to be a simple, routine pick-up, but we were ambushed by people who obviously knew which of us were coming and how to defeat us, sir."

The Director nodded thoughtfully. "I see. The Counselor will discuss your thoughts, Agent Tucker. You are dismissed."

That was a bad sign. Tucker nodded solemnly and left the office. He was halfway to his room, before Wash spoke.

"Well, that could've gone better."

Tucker groaned. "Tell me about it."

"It also could've gone worse," Wash pointed out.

Tucker unlocked his bedroom door. The hallways were empty, it was still kind of early to be falling asleep, but Tucker was too tired to care. Sometimes it was good to get a few more hours of rest than was actually needed. This job required you to be ready and alert at a moment's notice.

"Do you think he believed me?" Tucker wondered out loud as he walked into his room.

Wash shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. He seemed interested, but skeptical."

Tucker started to pull off his armor. "He didn't care at all. Sarge must've really annoyed him. He's always asking for parts for robots and stuff like that."

"What?" Wash seemed dumbfounded that Sarge could be that stupid.

Laughing loudly, Tucker nodded. "Oh yeah. Good thing for him that he's a great mechanic and even better with his shotgun."

"So, he used to be a sergeant?"

"Yeah, we only call him Sarge because we don't know his real name. I don't think The Director even knows what it is." Tucker shrugged as he climbed into bed. Usually, he despised the feeling of the scratchy blankets against his skin, but tonight he didn't have it in him to care.

"What about paperwork?" Wash made a confused noise.

Tucker laughed quietly. He could hear the other Freelancers getting back from dinner, so he decided to continue the conversation mentally. If somebody heard you talking inside your room, they usually took it as an invitation to come in. _"I honestly don't know. All I know is that the noise you just made was fucking adorable."_

_"Shut up,"_ Wash grumbled. The AI moved so that he was laying down on Tucker's chest. He was out of armor too, a spitting image of Tucker's ex-boyfriend, David.

Tucker was silent for a moment, before asking, _"Do you ever wish that you were real? I mean, I know that you're real. But like, a human."_

There was a pause. _"I guess, sometimes. I can't really imagine what it's like, though. It would be nice to be able to actually be able to touch you."_

_"Bow chicka wow wow."_

_"Never mind, I'm good where I am right now."_

Tucker didn't respond, but smiled to let Wash know that he was teasing. He decided that it was nice, sharing your thoughts with someone. Sometimes it could get a little crowded and frustrating, but it was definitely worth it.

 

Tucker was forced awake by a pounding on his door and a voice in his head.

_"You better get that."_ Wash ordered him, sounding sleepy.

Tucker rolled out of bed and dragged himself to the door. He unlocked it and was faced with an equally tired Church.

"Tex is making me practice out of armor. You two wanna come? Caboose and Maine are already in the training room."

Tucker blankly stared at Church and Texas, who was standing by his shoulder. Wash nodded in response for Tucker, who wasn't about to say anything. "Yeah, we'll be right there."

Church shrugged. "Alright, see you guys soon." He trudged off, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Texas was talking to him about working out.

As Tucker went to get back into bed, Wash moved to stand in front of him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going back to sleep. I'm not actually about to go practice at seven in the morning, Wash." Tucker shot him a quizzical look.

Wash glared. "Yes, you are. Get dressed. Now." He pointed at Tucker's dresser to prove his point.

Tucker didn't argue with the adamant AI and he sluggishly pulled on his clothes. He complained to Wash the whole walk to the training room and during their quick stop at the mess hall for breakfast. Wash still made him go.

Caboose and Church were the only ones there. Church was lazily sparring with Caboose in the center of the training room. According to FILSS, Caboose was winning, four to nothing. Tucker did a double take upon seeing the score. Wash let out a low whistle

Church was the best Freelancer and Caboose was easily beating him. It must've had something to do with the larger than normal AI that hovered above Caboose's left shoulder.

"Round over. Agent Caboose wins." FILSS called out as Church was knocked to his ass.

"You wanna do a quick round with me, Caboose?" Tucker asked, a lopsided grin on his face.

The normally cheerful Freelancer just growled in response. Tucker was a little bit taken aback at his hostility. He could feel Wash's confusion as well as his own. Still, Tucker took it to mean that Caboose wanted to spar with him, so he moved into a fighting stance. Caboose did the same.

"Round starts in three... Two... One," FILSS said.

Caboose threw the first punch, which Tucker had been expecting. He easily dodged it and followed up with a hook to Caboose's jaw. Unfortunately, Caboose didn't roll with the punch. Tucker yelped as something in his hand broke. From there, all that Caboose had to do was give Tucker a firm push to put him on the ground.

Wash flashed red. "Tucker's hand is possibly broken."

Tucker didn't say anything as Church called for a medical team. He just watched as Caboose walked out of the training room without so much as looking back. A sinking feeling started to form in Tucker's stomach.


End file.
